Curry, Holiday raise games to high level

Warriors

Warriors coach Mark Jackson knows people probably aren't quite ready to accept it, but he believes that those with tickets to Friday's game at Oracle Arena will be watching a matchup between two of the league's elite point guards.

"People who understand the game and watch the game, they see their value and just how good they are," Jackson said. "It's only a matter of time before everyone sees it. If you had to win a ballgame, those two guys are already among the class of the elite."

Curry and Holiday join Westbrook and small forward LeBron James as the only players in the league averaging at least 18 points, four rebounds and six assists.

Curry, whom the Warriors drafted No. 7 in 2009, is posting career highs with 20.3 points and 6.4 assists a game. The NBA leader in three-pointers this month, Curry is tied for tops in the NBA with four 20-point, 10-assist games and is two points behind Kevin Durant, who sits atop the league in scoring during the final five minutes of games that are within five points.

Philadelphia's Jrue Holiday is producing career highs in points, shooting and assists for the 76ers.

Philadelphia's Jrue Holiday is producing career highs in points, shooting and assists for the 76ers.

Photo: Jared Wickerham, Getty Images

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Golden State's Stephen Curry is healthy and posting career highs in points and assists for the Warriors.

Golden State's Stephen Curry is healthy and posting career highs in points and assists for the Warriors.

Photo: Steve Yeater, Associated Press

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Curry, Holiday raise games to high level

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Holiday, whom Philadelphia selected No. 17 in 2009, is on pace for career marks in points (18.1), field-goal shooting (44.8 percent) and assists (8.8). He has six double-doubles, compared with one last season; dished out seven-plus assists in 16 of his past 18 games after not doing it in consecutive contests throughout the 2011-12 season; and watched his team ineptly go 0-4 when he missed four games with a left foot sprain.

"He's a top-notch point guard in this league," Jackson said. "I love everything about him. He defends, runs his team, competes and plays at a high level. He's a great kid who plays the right way."

The point guards' emergence arose through similar circumstances. The Warriors traded Monta Ellis to Milwaukee in March, and Philadelphia traded Andre Iguodala to Denver in August.

The moves allowed Curry and Holiday to step out of the shadow of their backcourt mates, taking on more vocal leadership roles and shouldering more of the ball-handling and initiation of the offense.

"To me, it was more of a risk in Jrue's case, because at UCLA, you didn't see just how good he was and the things he could do," Jackson said, referring to Holiday mostly playing shooting guard alongside incumbent point guard Darren Collison. "With Steph, we saw it. But for both guys, the future is very bright because of how they conduct themselves."

Curry and Holiday, who were each given four-year extensions on their contracts before the season, came into the season expecting or at least hoping that they'd be able to dump the ball into the post for easy buckets from time to time, but Warriors centerAndrew Bogut (ankle) and Philadelphia big man Andrew Bynum (knee) are injured. That has opened the floor and allowed the guards to push the tempo, but it also demands they carry the bulk of the offense for the bulk of the 48 minutes.

"Both guys do a great job of picking and choosing when to take over a game offensively and how to take over a game," Jackson said.

Like Jackson, Philadelphia coach Doug Collins is a former player and analyst who cherishes his relationship with his point guard. Jackson and Curry had their arms around each other during one sideline chat Saturday, and Jackson consistently reminds anyone who will listen that his point guard's play calls overrule those of the coach.

"It brings out the best in an individual when they know that you're in it with them, and it's not just when he gets 25 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds and we win," Jackson said. "When he struggled to get healthy and we won 23 games, I cared about him and was there for him. I care about him succeeding, and I'll go to the end with him. As a player, I played my best when I knew I had a coach who would go there with me, and that made me willing to run through a wall."

All the while trying to be deemed one of the league's elite point guards.